Improvement in cotton and hat-presses



W. 1V1. SMITH. COTTON 0R. HAY PRESS.

No. 106.417. Patented Aug. 16, 1870.

@wat ctiijiiw.

WILLIAM 'n.sMITH, or AUGUSTA. esonera Letters Patent.2\"o. 106,417, la-ted ugust'l, 1870.

IMPRovnMENr nv co'rTolv aan HAY-PRESSES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part ofthe same To all whom it may con-cern Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. SMITH, of Angusta, inthe county of Richmond and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton and Hay-Presses; and that the following is a fuli and exact description of the construction and operation oi' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings making a part of this specificattion,in which- A Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the press,

with the doors thrown open.

Figure 2 represents an end view of the press, with the foliower-block and crane, to which it is hung, in iirll' lines, and alsoin dotted lines when itis swung out of the'way to till up the press;

e Figure 3 represents, n'secton, one-halt' of the press, showing the operation of. the rack and paw.ls.

Figui-e4-iepvesentsinsectioma moditication of the tack, pawl, and pawl-box. Figure 5 represents, in perspective, one ofthe pawls detached.

' Figure 6 representsa simple device foi-'starting a bale of cotton out of the press.

Figure 7 vrepresents devices for tightening and holding in position the bands ot' a cotton-bale while uniting the ends. v

Similar letters of `reference, where they occur, denote like parts in all the figures. l

My invention relates to the manner in which I have arranged and combined the use ot racks, pawls, and `levers, so that I can produce a greater pressure with -a manner that there will be little or no mot-ion 10st in .opemting the press, asl thev backs of the pawls have nearly'the 'same incline as the one formed on the teeth oi' the pawls.

My invention relates also-to the manner in which the follower-block israised out of the body ot' the.

press', and is held ont of the way by means ot' a hinged crane, so as to require less room toaecomplish the operation of removing the follower-block and filling up the press.

My inveption relatesalso to the manner in which the upright racks are made T-shaped, with the pawl-boxes sliding on them, so that the triangular-toothed pawls can ireely operate on the racks, and yet be tirmly supported by theirboxes, which follow the .ways tbn'ned on each side o t' the teeth 0f the racks.

My invention relates also'tothe manner iuwhich the pressdoors are held up in position by moans of bent rods passing through the framing, so that they cannot get lost, but remain in position ready for use.

the platformzis hinged to the side of the press, with one side of the press-box opening and folding on the platform, to facilitate the operation of filling the lowerportion of the press. Y

My invention relates also to the devices used for tightening andv holding the bands around the cotton.- ba1e, while their ends are to be united together, whereby there is a saving in the length of the bands, and in the size of the bale, after it is relieved from the pressure of the press.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use reference to the drawings.

Thebody ofthe press is viorin'edot' four upright timbers, A, securely bolted to the bed-pieces A, which are connected together by the timbers A. ,'lo each end of the timbers A2 is securely dovetailed and bolted the uprights, B, to which the Tdshaped racks O are fastened, by means -ot bolts .a :and lugs a', formed on the sides o'f the tail-piece of the racks, thus relieving the bolts a of a great portion of the strain.

Dis the follower-block, which is formed'of two strong timbers, properly braced, and united together by slats, `d,which forni the bottom of the follower-block, and permit the introduction of the bands orties around the cotton-bale.

From the underV side, and -near each end ot' these timbers, two iron' links, E and E', lare hanging, which are used in bringing 4the follower-block down.`

F and F' are two pawl-boxes, which can slidefreely up and down. the rack G, but cannot move in any other direction, as they aret'ormed with projections, j', which clasp'the head of the T-shaped rack C.

To the box F is pivoted, at e, the lever-socket G, which has indentations formed on'its under surface with which the link E'cngages, allowing themovable 't'nlcrnni to pass, at each stroke ofthe lever, beyond a perpendicular line drawn through the pivoting point e.

On the outer surface ot the pawl-box F there is a groove or indentation, u., which receives the link E', and retains it there until it is removed by mea-ns ot the wedge g, fig. 2.

The pawl-box F carries loosely the triangular-shaped pawl It, which is furnished 'with a series of fine teeth, which correspond and engage with the teeth formed on the rack i). To insure this pawl h engaging with the rack C, it has its rear portion beveled nii, and is furnished with projections, which clasp the head ot' 'the rack C, as shown in iig. 3, and a lnoditication oi' the same'pawl, simplified, is shown in figs. land 5.

' In4 this case the teeth of the pawl h are made with My invention relates also to the manner in which 'my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with their upperand lower faces beveled off at nearly the same angle with a vertical line, the upper face being,r slightly more horizontal, so as to take a stronger hold on the teeth of the rack O, which are out with a bevel corresponding with the one formed on the lpawl h.

The back of the pawl is beveled off with an incline, a fraction nearer a perpendicular than the upper side -of the teeth of the pawl, so that, when pressure is ap- Vsmall'descent ofthe pawl-box and pawl at'eaclrstroke`Y of the lever, it will be seen that itis' of the greatest importance that there should be no lost motion when the pawl slides home in the b ottom of the teeth of the rack. The lback of the pawl is also provided wit-h a shoulder, near its upper port-ion, and the bottom is out oli' horizontally,"forming two square rests', which bear upon the-pawl-boxwhen the pawl is ready to act on the rack, thus vrelieving the pawl-box of nearly all the lateral pressure, which the rear inc-line of the pawl would otherwise produce onthe incline of the pawlbox.-

To oblige the pawl to slide down for a new hold at eaclrstroke ot' the lever, it is provided with grooves, parallel to its ybevel portion, as shown in tig. 5, which follow two short pins in the inside of the pawl-box.

These pins may be carried by the pawl and the grooves cut on the inside of the pawllbox, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The object of these pins and grooves is to oblige the pawl'to slide ldown the incline, and take a new hold on the rack C at each stroke of the lererand to prevent it from tipping out at the top. The above description of pawl and pawl-box is applicable to' theifour used lin operating the press, the .two lowereonles retaining the follower-block down, while the two upper ones slide down fora new hold on the tack. Thereare cheek-pieces formed on `each side of the racks O, for the double purpose of strengthening the teeth and to form ways forthe pawl-box'es to slide upon.

'lo one side ot' the press is pivoted, at c', the double crane H, which is used to lift the tbllower-block D out of the press. For this purpose ropes are attached to the follower-block, near each end. These ropes pass overpulleys, k, attached to the crane H, down to the windla'ss I, around which they are wound up in raising the follower-block D. After the follower-block has been raised enough to clear the upright timbers A of the press,-the double crane H is swung on one side, and, in so doing, it raises the bllower-bleck higher and out of the way.

,The advantages of this device are, that the whole operation can be accomplished by one man, and itoccopies less height than what is required l generally to accomplish the same purpose.V

The wiudlass extends the whole length ofthe press, and passes through suitable bearings, securely fastened to the frame of the press. It is operated by means ot' the handlev I', 'and carries a ratchet, with which the pawl It engages. On the opposite side of the press to which the double craneH is pivoted, the platform K is hinged, so as tot'orm an elevated stand, from which the press can be conveniently filled up.

The upper side L ofthe box or body of the press is hinged to the ti'amework, so as to'f'form a door, which can be opened, as shown in dotted lines in tig. 2, allowingthe lower portion of the press to be filled with greater ease,.withont having to throwmost of man? side. When the press is partly tilledthe door L is closed, and held in that position, with the hooks l fast'- ening each end of the door.

The bed ot` the press is made of the ordinary slats, connected with strips, and resting on, but not fastened to, the framing ot' the press, so as fofacilitate the opbagging is placed on the bed ofthe press, and the two bottom doors. are then closed and fastened witlfthe bent rods a, which pass through the framing of the press, where they are kept in position, ready for immediate use. .The upper door L is then opened, and the press is filled upto near the top of the bottom doors; then the upper door L is closed, and secured with the hooks l, after which the pi'ess is filled to the top. Bagging is their spread over the cotton, the crane H swung back above the press, bringing the tolloweif block'iu position; the pawl-hoxes F are then raised up, and the the links E engaged in one of the indentations of the lever sockets G. The pawls of-the retaining boxes F' are then removed from the boxes, so as to allow them to be raised up until thelinks Ecan be engaged in the recess u of theA retaining boxes, and then the pawls h. are replacelin their boxes. '.lhe bllower-block is then worked down by means of the levers G' bearing ou the movable fulcrnms formed by the links E, and operating on a progressive principle7 so that the iulcrum can fully pass a vertical line drawn from the pivoting point c ot the levers, thus usingthc full power of the stroke.

^ During this operation the retaining pawls and boxes F will, by their own weight, slide down thoracic one or more teeth, and retain, by means of the link l", the .follower-block Din vthe position where it had been brought by the stroke of the levers, relieving them of pressure, allowing the upper pawls to take a new hold lower flown the rack, and repeat the opera-tion. These reciprocating movement-s are repeated until the cotton is pressed down tothe required size, then the bent rods a are turned a quarter around,`releasing-the doors, which are then laid down. Th" ties are then' passed around the bale, from the windlass side ofthe press.

in recesses 2, tig. 3, between the slats ofthe follower# block.

The lever M is brought down, so that its point, 3, holds the tie iirmlyon the bale then the tie is passed under the bale, to the windlass side, and its end bent, as shown at N, and the loop introduced 'between the fngers ofthe clamp 0; -then the rope o is passed 'over the hook p of the sleeve P. This sleeve l can be moved lengthwise ofthe windlass. `It has a groove `ont next to its center, so as .to pass over the pins q,

- which are set on the windlass, opposite to the position occupied by the ties on the bale, and, when the sleeve P rests over one of these pins, it will be obliged to reg volve with the windlass I when the windlass is turned around; and, by revolvingit with the rope o, made fast to thehoolcpp, the tie N ot the bale will be pulled tightly against the bale; then the wedge Q is driven between the slats of thebed. of the press, tightly against the tie, so that the tie will be held tirmlyin position, with the two ends free, and ready to be united together.

The operation is repeated for each tie by shifting the sleeve l over another of the 'pins q, shifting, at the same time, the movable rest R next-to it so aste sup- -the cotton over the head of the party tramping it ineration of taking the press apart, and shipping the same.

ropes m, of aproper length, after which the necessary The pins 1, of the bent lever M, iig. 7, are intfroduced port the wiudlass I, and keep it from bending. -In lieu of the clamp O the clamp S could be used; in this case, after introducing the loop N in the opening s, the key s' is passed through the loop, which keeps iti'rom getting flattened out. After the ties have all been fastened,tbe pawls of the pawl-boxes F are removed, the follower-block being then retained down-by the links E', These are set free by driving the wedges g, fig. 2, between the pawl-boxes F and links E', and the follower-block can be raised again by means of the crane H and windlassI. At the same time the cotton bale is started out of the press by fastening the two hooks e, iig. 6, in the sides of the bale, and passing the loop c' over the hook p ofthe sleeve I, when, by turning the crank I', the double operation will be pertbrmed, viz., removing the completed bale,`aud carryiugthe ibllower-'block to the top of the press.

The whole press is monntedou three wheels, two of which, a, are connected to the bed-pieces A by an axle suitable for the purpose, and the front wheel y, which allows the press to be moved with ease, even when .turning on the road or shifting from place to place.

Each rack C is secured firmly between two timbers B, rabet-ted out for its reception, the timbers B forming, atthe same time, a guide for thefollower-block D, and keeping it' from tipping.

Having thus fully described the construction and' op-` eration oi' the press,

W bat I claim therein as new, and desireto secure by-Letters Patent, is

l. lhe combination of the Tshaped 'racks C, secured in the upright timbers B, as described, with the pawls It and the pawl-boxes F and 13", constructed as and for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with T-shaped racks of a cot-tonpress, the pand-boxes F and Il", constructed with an inside incline, nearly-parallel with the upper face oi' ,the teeth o i the pawls, so that there will belit-tle-oruo loss motion when the pawls euagage with the racks, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In combination with the follower-block of a cottonepress, the double crane H, hinged to one side thereof', and the' windlass I, substantially .as and for the purpose set. forth.

4. .lhe arrangement of the rods n', pivoted in and passingthrough the uprghts A, and provided at each end with hooksn n, in the manner and for the purpose shown and set forth.

5. The arrangement of the hinged door. L with" the Vhinged platform K, provided with hooks, all in' relation to the pressbox, as herein shown and described.

lever M, clamps S and D, and wedge Q, for the pur.

pose of holding t-be bauds N while being fastened, sub'- stantially as described.

8. In combination with the retaining pawl-boxes F' and the links E', the wedges g, for the purpose of releasing said links from the boxes, substantially as de'- scribed.

WM. M. SMITH.

l Witnesses: 4

l AeB. SroUGn'roN,

EDMUND MASSON. 

